A utility range-based interactive group support system for multiattribute decision making

This research suggests an interactive procedure for solving a multiattribute group decision problem using a range-typed utility information, and develops an interactive group support system (RINGS) to implement some capabilities of the procedure. It is often difficult for group members to articulate their preferences with cardinal values, instead they prefer to give incomplete information only. Utility ranges are obtained by solving linear programming problems with incompletely specified information. RINGS finds out conflicting opinions among group members, compares each member's preferences with the others', and suggests a direction for consensus seeking. The procedure of RINGS utilizes range-typed visual information, which helps the group reach a consensus. RINGS has several facilities like graphic user interface, model base, and database, so the total time to reach a group consensus is reduced. The evaluation of information systems is illustrated as a demonstration of some capabilities of RINGS.